Daily Times

The dollar can now be bought for Rs157.95 in the open market as the greenback rate has dropped to a one-year low. The last time dollar was traded below Rs158 was on March 10 last year.

“The State Bank took several initiatives such as Roshan Digital Accounts last year during the pandemic,” said Zafar Paracha, the secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan. “The dropping rate shows those initiatives have been bearing fruits.”

He added that the inward remittances, the foreign exchange overseas Pakistanis send back to the country, have been strong. The remittances in the first seven months of the fiscal year 2021 (July to January) stood at $16.5 billion, which was 24% higher than the same period of the previous year.

Last month, the State Bank announced that the remittances send through Roshan Digital Accounts have crossed $500 million.

Paracha added that Naya Pakistan Certificate also offers lucrative 7% interest for overseas Pakistanis, which was also increasing dollar inflow to the country.

Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves of the country stand at $20.058 billion by week ended February 12, 2021, SBP said. The official foreign exchange reserves of the central bank stood at $12.889 billion while reserves held by commercial banks clocked in at $7.168 billion by the week ended February 12, 2021.